Poor Pups: Study Shows Black Dogs Are Last To Be Adopted Because They Are Viewed As “Scary” And “Evil”

Study Shows Black Dogs Are Last To Be Adopted

It has long been publicized that older (5+ year old) animals are the last to be adopted and the first to be euthanized at shelters. But the color of an animal’s fur is almost as stigmatized — especially for black-coated pets.

This holds so true for black dogs, that a condition exists to describe the phenomenon — Big Black Dog Syndrome; animal shelters use the term “BBD” to reference the larger, mixed-breed black dogs typically shunned by potential adopters. Black cats face an equally formidable bias: they are far less-likely to be adopted than grey, tabby, and white-coated cats, and have been castigated as “evil omens” for decades. But what are the reasons behind this?

A myriad of theories attempt to address the bias against black dogs — particularly those of the larger variety. Jacque Lynn Schultz, ASPCA’s shelter outreach director told People that most adopters feel black dogs “look menacing because their facial expressions are harder to read.” Amy Chase of the Ohio County Animal Shelter in Rising Sun, Ind., adds that “the black dog is definitely more at risk of going to death row than a yellow or tan dog.” While little numerical data exists to quantify this issue, it has been explored extensively by researchers.

Researchers and shelter workers have suggested several reasons for this. Potential adopters may associate black fur with “evil” or “misfortune;” black dogs have also been stigmatized as aggressive and menacing. In British folklore, black dogs have a long history as “nocturnal apparitions” associated with the Devil. From Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of Baskervilles to Wiltshire’s “Black Dog Hill,” the dark-furred canines are regarded as “portents of death.” These evil dogs are often portrayed as larger than the average dog, “black as the night,” and unequivocally snarlish.